Budget Tax Cuts Responsible
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THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN The oldest circulating Greek newspaper outside Greece email: VEMA [email protected] MAY 2006 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 In this issue... Our Primate’s View THE SO-CALLED ‘CATHARSIS’ IN THE CHURCH OF GREECE - C’- PAGES 4/22, 5/23 Howard: ‘Budget tax cuts responsible’ Prime Minister John Howard has defended the extent of tax cuts in the Responsible: Mr Howard says Budget, saying he does not believe it will the Budget will not put pres- WINDOWS TO ORTHODOXY: lead to upward pressure on interest rates. sure on interest rates. Saint Thomas - The Treasurer Peter Costello on Tuesday 9th May, unveiled $37 billion worth of tax cuts Apostle full of faith: over four years. He also announced changes to family wel- An Exegesis of John 20:24-31 fare benefits and superannuation taxes, and funding for infrastructure, largely through PAGE 8/26 the AusLink program. Mr Howard described the Budget measures as responsible. He says the extra money in people's pock- ets will help them deal with rising petrol costs. "I do not believe that this Budget in its overall scope would be a surprise to the gov- been banging on for a long time about ced to superannuation will address the long- ernor of the Reserve Bank," he said. skills." term needs and consequences of Australia's "He would see that big surplus. But Mr Howard has rejected claims the ageing population. "He would see the value at a time of high Government is not doing enough to address From the middle of next year, retirees aged petrol prices of people getting a bit of extra skills shortages. over 60 who have already paid tax on their money in their pocket from tax cuts." "We announced a lot on skills once again super contributions will not be charged outside of the Budget process," he said. again when they receive their payouts. Labor support "The Australian technical colleges Phillipa Smith, from the Association of announced in the last election got more sup- Superannuation Funds, says it will make it Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley port than any other individual policy initia- easier for people to contribute to their own says Labor has been pushing the Govern- tive during that campaign, so I do encourage well-being. ment to overhaul the tax system for years. people not to see the be-all and end-all of "It does mean also that it's an easier deci- Mr Beazley says the Treasurer has now what governments do as contained in the sion for people to stay in the workforce if TRAVEL: delivered on that, to a degree. Budget speech." they want because the income they might be "As far as we're concerned there's nothing drawing down from their super won't be cal- Rhodes off in the tax package that we find offensive but Superannuation culated in terms of extra cash on top of their the beaten track there is much that we find overdue," he said. salary," she said. "This is better than there was last year and Mr Howard also says the changes announ- AAP we have been nagging year in, year out to PAGE 18/36 get this Government to seriously address tax concerns for middle Australia. "We've tried very hard on that, we've now Budget 2006 Key Points got them up to the mark to a degree." Cash surplus of nearly $15 billion for this financial year Training concerns Underlying cash surplus of $10.8 billion for the next financial year Economic growth tipped at 3.25 per cent But Mr Beazley says the Budget has failed Inflation forecast at 2.75 per cent for 2006-07 to provide for the nation's future. He says the Treasurer has made no provi- Personal income tax cuts worth $36.7 billion over four years sions to boost Australia's skills base. from July 1, 2006 "There should have been in this Budget an Increased family payments and childcare places to entice mothers addressing of what is the core problem of back to work what is causing bottlenecks in the ... devel- opment of the Australian economy and that $500 million funding boost for improved water management is the skills of our people," he said. in the Murray -Darling basin "In the same way that we have been bang- ing on for a long time about tax cuts, we've $2.3 billion in funding for road and rail infrastructure uro Funeral Service Genocide Eëëçíéêü Ïéêïãåíåéáêü Ãñáöåßï Ôåëåôþí of the Pontian Greeks Tel: (02) 9747 6604 PAGE 16/34 Available 24 hrs 114543 MAY 2006 2/20 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA History Channel documentary brings Rome back to life Computer-generated imagery (CGI), Engineering an Empire with further pro- until now, has been reserved for big budg- grams to focus on the Mayan people, Khmer, et Hollywood movies. America’s History Persians, Byzantines and Aztecs. Channel claims to be one of the first net- Gavin said CGI would be used in some of works to use CGI for a television docu- the upcoming programs, but not all. mentary - Rome: Engineering an Empire. “It is used as a tool and a tool that we think “In the past, CGI was really restricted to believing people might mistake the recre- through and use very carefully to ensure that big budget movies,” said Dolores Gavin, ations for exact replicas. we can tell the story in a different way,” she director of History Channel programming. Others have argued that the program could said. “But the cost of CGI animation has just not be labelled a documentary and should be “It really is a case by case basis, but I think dropped dramatically. referred to as fiction. it is a wonderful tool that any filmmaker FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE “It would be nearly impossible for us to Gavin said she could understand the argu- should be free to use.” June 16, 1963 have done the show even three years ago ment but that the CGI was used simply to Director Chris Cassel will be working on because the technology just wouldn’t have illustrate the magnitude of the successes in the entire series. On June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6, So- been available to us.” Roman engineering. While interested in history, Cassel is the viet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova Rome: Engineering an Empire charts the “In the documentary world, this has been the first to admit he isn’t an expert. becomes the first woman to travel into rise and fall of the Roman Empire from subject of much discussion and debate,” she “We passed it past many scholars, just to space. After 48 orbits and 71 hours, she 500BC to 55AD, marking successes and said. ensure the accuracy of it,” said Cassel. returned to earth, having spent more failures with a focus on engineering develop- “There is a school of thought that believes Cassel was fascinated at how the Romans time in space than all U.S. astronauts ments. that any recreations using CGI is not really created an intricate aqueduct system to trans- combined to that date. Rome was the most powerful and advan- considered documentary. port more than 200 million gallons of run- ced civilisation in the world for more than “But there is another school of thought that ning water into Rome each day. MEN REACH EVEREST SUMMIT 500 years, covering the reigns of emperors says that that is part of what we consider to That is equivalent to the amount of water May 29, 1953 Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Nero and of be a documentary.” provided to the city of New York in 1985. course, Julius Caesar. Gavin feels very strongly about the argu- The documentary also looks at many of the At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund The documentary looks at various engi- ment. secrets of Rome’s architectural proficiency - Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, neering feats such as the Colosseum, or the “CGI is one of many tools available to film- the use of durable, waterproof concrete that a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers Flavian Amphitheatre as it was first known, makers to be able to tell this very compelling still sustains many of the city’s key struc- to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which and an early Roman shopping mall. story about the past,” she said. tures. at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest Instead of showing footage of Roman ruins, “And I don’t as a rule say that CGI or that It was also important to Cassell that the point on earth. The two, part of a British the documentary makers have recreated the reconstruction must be in every show, documentary look at some of the more inter- expedition, made their final assault on the monuments using CGI, something that dif- because there are documentaries for which esting personal moments in Roman history. summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 ferentiates the program from the many other those two things were not appropriate.” One interesting fact to emerge was that feet. News of their achievement broke documentaries on Rome. Rome: Engineering an Empire screened in Emperor Vespasian is credited with being the around the world on June 2, the day of Queen CGI is the technology used by filmmakers the United States last year and premiered in first leader to introduce pay toilets in Rome. Elizabeth II's coronation, and Britons hailed to create scenes that would be too expensive Italy in April.